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Title: Males at the Tails: How Socioeconomic Status Shapes the Gender Gap
Abstract

We document that the female advantage in childhood behavioural and academic outcomes is driven by gender gaps at the extremes of the outcome distribution. Using unconditional quantile regression, we show that family socioeconomic status particularly influences boys’ relative to girls’ outcomes at the lower tails of the outcome distribution, precisely where gender gaps are most pronounced. These relationships are not explained by school or neighbourhood factors, or parents’ differential treatment of boys. The disproportionate effect of socioeconomic status on boys at the tails substantially contributes to the gender gap in high school dropout.

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PAR ID:
10467987
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ;
Publisher / Repository:
Oxford University Press
Date Published:
Journal Name:
The Economic Journal
Volume:
133
Issue:
656
ISSN:
0013-0133
Format(s):
Medium: X Size: p. 3136-3152
Size(s):
p. 3136-3152
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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